Tanzania

There are three things which if one does not know, one cannot live long in the world: what is too much for one, what is too little for one, and what is just right for one. – Swahili Proverb

Tanzania was different, but equally as stunning as Kenya. Our journey during the second week involved a lot more driving, and on a truck that decided to blow a pressure pipe every single day. Thankfully the scenery was always beautiful, so these impromptu stops were tolerable.

On our way out of Kenya towards the Tanzanian border, we stopped at a sandstone shop. Men and women here shape, carve, sand, and decorate smooth pieces of sandstone. It’s a Fair Trade business and ships to places all over the world! World Market is one place in the U.S. you can find this shop’s goods. Once at the border, everyone had to disembark from the truck and go through the tedious immigration line. Tourists have to obtain a visa to enter Tanzania. My Irish traveling friend and I had to pay $100, while every other person on the tour got away with $50. What’s up with that?! People throughout Africa seem to equate America with money. Rich, yes. Terrible at managing those riches, yes.

Lake Victoria

Trouble with the truck led us to have to make a pit stop, which turned into an impromptu village walk. The sun on this side of Africa was scorching. It often felt as though blades of fire were searing into my skin. May seem like a bit of an exaggeration, but for real, it was hot hot hot. Yet at night, it would get surprisingly cool. Lake Victoria is the largest inland lake in the world! As beautiful as it was, you can’t go in it. Apparently there are these teeny tiny snails that will burrow into your skin. Yikes!

Serengeti National Park

Serengeti means, “Endless Plains”. This park is ten times larger than the Masai Mara in Kenya. Here, we camped in the center of the park in the Serenora area. When I say center, I mean literally in the middle of the park with no fences protecting our campsite. We were warned about hyenas and elephants roaming nearby at night. After dinner one night, a fellow traveler, Dina, and I decided to do some stargazing. On clear nights, the stars seemed close enough to be able to touch. The sky sparkled and it was simply spectacular. On this night, our eyes caught sight of two large white masses. Turns out, those were the tusks of an elephant that had entered our campsite! It was within 40 feet of us. After we gasped and oohed and ahhed at this amazing moment, we heard the calls of hyenas very nearby. Like scared little girls, we scurried back to our tents motivated by pure fear. What a thrill! This campsite contained many a variety of thrills for all campers actually. Several girls were attacked by ants in their sleep and one guy found a scorpion inside his tent! Needless to say, these were the nights when a middle-of-the-night bathroom run didn’t happen. We did several game drives throughout the Serengeti. One was at dawn when we departed before the sun had even risen.

In the Serengeti, we were introduced to a new animal called the

Wildebeest. A big hairy beastly looking creature. Kind of a cross between a zebra and a buffalo. Not pretty, but rather fascinating. This is the animal that partakes in the great migration every year ,which is essentially a massive amount of animals roaming the plains from Serengeti up to Masai Mara and back down again. Two million herbivores take part! 200,000 zebra, 500,000 gazelle and one-and-a-half million wildebeest. The main part of the movement happens in July. What a sight it would be!

One night while sitting around the campfire after dinner, our guide, Victor, asked everyone what animal they would choose to be in the Serengeti. I chose elephant. One, they are super smart and live a pretty long life. Two, though they appear cool, calm, and collected, I get the idea that when necessary they can pounce and take care of business. I like that fierceness.

Before journeying towards Ngorongoro Crater, we stopped at Oldupai Gorge. This place is considered the Cradle of Mankind because some of the world’s oldest humanoid skeletons were discovered here. So, if you believe in evolution, as I think you should, this is the place where it all began.

Ngorongoro Crater

Our two-week journey ended on a definite high note. Our campsite was along the rim of the crater. With armed guards protecting us from buffalo and elephants ,we sat around the campfire with the guards who sang a few songs and cracked a few jokes. The next morning, we descended the Ngorongoro Crater in 4x4 safari jeeps. Up to this point, we had all been in the Intrepid truck, which was well equipped with giant windows, but was rather high above the ground. In the jeeps we got eye-level with some animals. This crater is a perfectly intact volcanic crater and is home to about 30,000 animals. 40,000 Maasai people live in the crater area. It’s a truly mystical place.

As in any journey, it’s generally the people that make or break a trip. On this trip, the people definitely made it. The first week’s group was thirteen people while week two had twenty-two travelers. I ended up chatting most with a group of other ladies who were also traveling solo. Pauline, an incredibly intelligent and ambitious young woman from England who spent five weeks teaching in Kenya previous to this safari. Kim, an Irish woman, who is just beginning a 7-month trip around the world. To say I’m jealous would be a vast understatement. Dina, a photo-loving gal from Toronto who enjoyed dirt and was always full of enthusiasm. My roommate throughout the two weeks was an Australian woman named Carol. She lived in Nigeria for a couple years many moons ago, so she understood my struggles with living in Ghana. I will never forget these ladies or this amazing adventure!